A woman brings her child to hospital in Yemen to be treated for severe acute malnutrition.

ADEN, Yemen — While the media was flooded with images of the starving children of Syria, the thousands of children suffering from Saudi Arabia’s U.S.-backed onslaught on Yemen made far fewer headlines.

The mainstream media was eager to report on the struggle for survival in Madaya. The mountain town near Syria’s southwestern border was once known as a popular resort destination in the Middle East, but its population is now reportedly being starved under a siege by the Syrian army.

Meanwhile, far fewer journalists are covering the large-scale starvation and displacement taking place in Yemen, a situation caused by a bombing campaign and blockade led by Saudi Arabia and its allies and backed by U.S. military aid. The Nusra Front, one of the groups responsible for skyrocketing food prices in Madaya, also has the backing of the Saudi government, like many of the rebel forces in the region.

The situation was so dire nationwide that, in June, the U.N. reported “that at least six million people in Yemen are in urgent need of emergency food and life-saving assistance, a new United Nations (UN) investigation has found … 10 out of Yemen’s 22 governorates are facing an ‘emergency level’ food security situation amid the ongoing conflict, including major areas like Aden, Taiz, Saa’da and Al Baida.” In July, Oxfam reported that the number of starving people in Yemen had topped 6 million — nearly half the country’s population of 13 million. Aid workers are struggling to reach the needy, with the World Food Programme reporting that it had served 3.5 million Yemenis by August.

While the suffering of the residents of Madaya is heart-wrenching, some critics have questioned the motives behind the media’s focus on this single town rather than suffering in Yemen or even elsewhere in Syria. Vladimir Safronkov, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the U.N. Security Council, lamented recently that the timing of the reports seemed calculated to undermine the budding peace process in Syria, according to a report from RT. “It looks like that, under the pretext of the deterioration of the situation in besieged cities, attempts are being made to undermine the launch of the inter-Syrian dialogue scheduled for January 25,” he told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Saturday.

Safronkov said the West practices a “double standard” by raising the alarm about Madaya while ignoring cities besieged by anti-Assad forces:

“Much is being said about Madaya, but not a word about the villages of Nubul and Az-Zahra in the province of Aleppo. And we are talking about the fate of tens of thousands of people.”

On Monday, Ben Norton, politics staff writer for Salon, cited the siege of Yemen, as well as Israel’s decade-long blockade of Gaza, when he questioned why some atrocities are condemned and others are “barely even acknowledged.” He wrote:

“All sieges are of course tragic, because they harm civilians. There should be outrage at the siege on Madaya, but there should be proportionate outrage. All of the other ongoing sieges — and the much larger blockades — that happened to be supported by the West should not conveniently be ignored.

Americans, in particular, should be concerned about the millions upon millions of people being starved in policies backed by their ostensibly democratic government, right at this very moment.”

Maybe now that that horrible crooked war-criminal Hillary Clinton is done, we will stop supporting the terrorist-backing Saudis and giving them weapons so they can invade Yemen. She needs to be tried for treason and we need to bring back the death penalty for treason.

Perhaps the US could stop propping up dictators such as Saddam Hussein and working with the Saudi monarchy to create global terrorist groups like Al-Queda, then cover for Saudi Arabia’s attack on the US on 911, then killing a million people over lies so we don’t have to hear fat worthless braindead morons with names like Wherry talk garbage all day while they feed on the blood of a million dead people?

James Wherry

If you are a U.S. citizen, then perhaps you could agree to stop borrowing billions of dollars a year to prop up the failed economic policies of the American Left.

The deal struck in the 1970’s was simple: we keep the House of Sa’ud on the throne and in exchange, they trade oil in U.S. dollars, effectively making the American dollar the world currency and enabling us to print money and move from the gold standard.

Iran has already moved from the dollar to the Euro, so it’s quite possible.

I’m a conservative Republican who would like to END America’s ability to print money and require deep cuts in health, education and welfare. While your childish name calling shows just how stupid you are, I condemn the Wahabi’s for their evil, but I have no interest in putting the Shi’ite Elevener’s or Twelver’s on the throne of Arabia, either, as it’s “six one way/half a dozen the other.” I also favor closing our bases in much of the world, to include Korea (33,000 troops brought home), Japan (44,000 troops brought home), Kuwait (4,000 troops brought home) and of course Iraq and Syria. I’d keep troops in Kurdistan because ISIL is bent on committing Genocide against the Kurds. Iran can take care of the Shi’ites in Iraq, or I’d reluctantly agree with working with them.

You apparently have no understanding of the history or economic background of any of these alliances, or of the history of the middle east or the United States.

AtoZ

why does the petrodollar excuse enable us to cover for Saudi Arabia’s monarchies attacks on us on 911? Why does the petrodollar excuse enable them for us to ally with Saudi Arabia and arm ISIS and “friendly heart eating moderate rebels” in 2016? Why does the petrodollar excuse then enable us to bypass the war powers act and unilaterally murder Qadaffi enabling more wahabiists? Why is it the petrodollar then makes us the leading terrorist sponsoring nation in the world and subservient to Saudi Arabia? The Saudi Monarchy can attack us on 911 and we spend trillions in attacking their rivals because petrodollars??? Doesn’t that make Saudi Arabia then ou masters if we are to go that far? We spend all this money and energy protecting their monarchy due to petrodollars but we are the best nation in the world? Seems like the way you describe it is we are a bankrupt nation addicted to Saudi petrodollars and will murder our own people and look the other way while they do it, even encouraging it…for petrodollars. How much have these illegal and useless wars cost us in relation to petrodollars if all this is true?

Also why do you have to kill millions of US citizens and cut their health care as well as education when over 50% of our usable budget goes to the military that props up Saudi interests? How much does it cost us having a population so stupid that they would vote for Bush and Obama? How about how much will it cost us when China who does invest heavily in education take us over with missile defense like Russia has done? What is the cost of seeing our population die early and stupid? Why is it that it’s OK to spend a trillion dollars on a horrible jet but not spend $500 billion to give everyone free college education like we used to then? How about just AFFORDABLE education then? Still no eh?

James Wherry

The House of Sa’ud has said that it “welcomes” the release of the 28 pages showing its connection to 911, so they can answer the charges – and then threatened the U.S. financially, if it happens. In short, the Sa’udi’s are lying, when they say they want the exposure.

If you’re asking me why we’re in bed with the House of Sa’ud, I can’t explain it any more succinctly than I just did. Why do you think that President Obama rushed to the Sa’udi’s aid in Yemen? Oh, true, we are droning ISIL/al-Quaeda in Yemen, but that has NOTHING to do with the Houthi’s as they hate the same people. And even if the Houthi’s hate America and pray for “Death to America” (which they do), they’ve made no move against the USA.

So what Constitutional basis does the US have for entering that civil war and assisting Arabia? True, we can interdict arms shipments on the High Seas, but why are we on land, providing INTEL and working directly with the Sa’udi’s?

1. We want their support for our U.S. dollar.

2. Iran hates us and we hate them.

3. We have oil wells in Arabia.

Do you think I support Sa’udia Arabia and its Wahabiism? The Gatestone Institute condemned the arrest, trial, imprisonment and execution of the young Shi’ite cleric in Arabia, months before the sentence was carried out. WE are not the bigots and do not support Wa’habi’ism.

Stephen Coyle

Your boss is Israel and you are clearing the enemies of Israel to make the Greater Israel,also giving them billions for weapons. Why not a word about it.

James Wherry

Sounds like a phony allegation. I’m an American citizen and a military isolationist. I have long said that we should stay out of the Syrian Civil War and EVERY civil war, unless and until world authorities can negotiate a peace and we can assist with peacekeeping.

Israel is not extending its borders into Syria or Jordan or Lebanon. Since the 1970’s, it has given up the Sinai and left Gaza. Your comment seems like typical Far Left paranoia.

AtoZ

Uh sir I am Iranian. Israel is in no way MY boss, maybe it is the boss of some of the people in the United States government. Israel however horrific it’s tactics are, has a regional agenda. Saudi Arabia literally attacked us on 9-11, blamed it on Muslims instead of wahabis, runs fox news and got us to spend trillions of dollars taking out their enemies.

Even with all the aid we give Israel, it doesn’t come close to what Saudi Arabia has cost us. Today, Saudi Arabia is the main root of ISIS and all these ‘moderate rebels’. If we end our US/Saudi alliance, the Israeli alliance also suffers and we can look at that. However, Israel isn’t the one send us out to take out all the rivals of Saudi Arabia. The monarchy is.

Stephen Coyle

The men you bring home,how will you employ them.Will you also stop supplying weapons to Isis?

Trish Radford-Poydence

WOW, you ARE delusional buddy. The GOP has had the control of the presidency and the congress for the majority of the last 80 years. The FAILED Trickle down economics from the RIGHT are what has destroyed the middle class and PROPPED up the CROOKS in the 1% that it DID HELP. Wake up. You would cut education to your children and grandchildren but not make cuts in THEIR SALARIES, BENEFITS, ETC. CORPORATE welfare ia what is killing us, ALL GOP economic BS. You would support starving our felloe Americans so that a FEW can have gold furniture? What a true humanitarian you are sir. YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA!

James Wherry

Youuuuuuuuuuuuu’rrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee responding to a post from four months ago, right?

* Yawn*

Yes, both parties are crooked. Yes, I am seriously considering doing something I have never done in my life: voting for an independent candidate, Gary Johnson – if only to give him Federal matching funds and to set him up for 4 years from now.

The “social welfare state” has not gotten people off the dole, either. What is needed is economic common sense. Do away with the corporate tax on MANUFACTURING (not on anything else) and replace it with a Value Added Tax like Germany and Sweden do. Right now, you UNDERWRITE the export of our JOBS overseas.

There is no such thing as “corporate welfare,” unless you are handing cash to corporations. Our rate is 35%, while Ireland and the Netherlands are around 10-11%. This has caused “corporate inversions.” My proposal robs them of the incentive.to go overseas.

Oh, and PASS A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO GET MONEY OUT OF GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trish Radford-Poydence

I don’t really give a flying **** when the post is from if you still feel cutting budgets for education and health are less important than investigation people over and over and BS things the GOP puts forth. Did you hear about the amendment to make Magic an Art. Yes, that was really something the GOP pushed through, terribly important legislation. The kind of BS they are wasting our tax money on instead of doing something usefull with our tax dollars that pay their salaries. https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/642/amendments….Please tell me who’s wasting our time and money….GOP.

James Wherry

You seem to flit from talking point to talking point in your ranting.

You are a waste of my time. If you intend to embrace anti-business and anti-job policies, and I am taking the money out of your hide And the programs that you embrace.

Take a class and economic sometime. Otherwise, you are a waste of human excrement. What’s the matter? Don’t you liberals believe in composting anymore?

Diane Watson

They were right, You’re a paid troll! The exact same comment from you on two different sites.

James Wherry

Oh? What’s the other site?

Posting a fact twice doesn’t make it “not a fact,” Eh?

tapatio

As the Zionist/Sociopath, Madeline Albright, stated regarding the US murder of 500,000 children in Iraq, “We think the sacrifice is worth it.”.

Just as the Iraqi people were slaughtered to bring them into submission to the Rothschild-Bilderberg Cartel and its minions in Washington, Jerusalem and Riyadh, the Yemeni people are being slaughtered to accomplish the same goal.

How long will humanity sit on its hands and watch these monsters take every resource of OUR EARTH for their own pleasure and comfort???

James Wherry

Yes!
The “Oil for Fraud” campaign and the sanctions on Iraq for WMD that did not exist were a crime. Thankfully, people like me invaded Iraq and ended the sanctions regime. Meanwhile, the filthy pieces of trash on the Far Left said “GIVE SANCTIONS MORE TIME!” More time for WHAT?!? Saddam didn’t HAVE any weapons of mass destruction! Exactly WHAT was going to be accomplished by giving sanctions more time????

tapatio

”James Wherry” is a hasbara shill for the Zionist disease. This creature trolls me daily with up to 20 BS comments. I’m pleased that the Judeo-Naz!s are so concerned about my comments that they devote so much troll time to me – it means that I’m effective against the Zionist disease.

James Wherry

You’re lying to your readers as usual: this is the first time we’ve chatted in a few days.

More to the point, I agreed with you. I am proud to have invaded Iraq and stopped those fraudulent sanctions for WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION THAT DID NOT EXIST!

tapatio

Granted that you do take days off.

James Wherry

It’s called a “job.” It takes most of my time. Anti-max! Posts are a hobby.

Helen4Yemen

CAN’T ANYONE DO SOMETHING ABOUT SPAMMING ADS???

Lost in america

Government control of the regions is needed to help provide food. The Houthis should put down their arms allow the intervention of the government and UN. If the government takes control and does their job, the Saudis and Americans will withdraw as well as the Houthis. This problem did not occur until there was an insurrection.

TecumsehUnfaced

In other words, be meek beneath the heel of savage invaders supporting a fraudulent government.

Lost in america

Depends on the priority. Feed all the people or fight a war. It is a tough choice with civilians ending up in the cross hairs.

Helen4Yemen

Your comment appears to be very naive. The Houthis have lost thousands of their people, and their cities now totally destroyed. What would motivate them now to surrender to a foreign govenment called Saudi? It all started as a demestic dispute followe by a coup by Yemenis against Yemenis. Saudi – a foreign govt- intervened with the consent of America. The following quote by former Ambassador of Yemen Stephen Seche is worth paying attention to an the links by the same ambassador that follow.

What this suggests to me is that Saudi Arabia was focused on one thing as it

began its air campaign, and it was something other than the physical well‐being of

Yemen’s citizens. Saudi Arabia was focused on sending a clear and unequivocal

message to Iran, which it believes is the driving force behind the Houthi rebellion.

This is by no means a universally held belief, however. Certainly, it is not clear to

me that the Houthi insurgency comes with a Made‐in‐Iran label. While I don’t

doubt that Iran has provided political, financial and military support to the

Houthis, we must remember that they are a 100 percent Yemeni phenomenon,

and it is almost certainly true that the military support provided to them by former

What ‘bring it on’? Are you referring to an all out war and destruction? That has already taken place. The choices should not be either
(a) ‘bring it on’ or b) surrender of the Houthis, there is a 3rd option, which is a diplomatic settlement. The glaring question that needs to be asked is what gave the so-called ‘Saudi’ to intervene in Yemeni local affairs and bomb a poor nation back to stone age?

Lost in america

The situation is unfortunate and mere existence is an issue for many of the people in the battle zone. Yemen is a proxy war between two opposing forces that would rather fight there than in their own countries. Each side thinks that they can win so there will be no probable diplomatic solution. Until Yemen fragments into a Lebanon or Syria state, the attrition will probably continue. Saudi’s are supporting their allies like everyone in the Middle East does. The official government probably asked for help like the official Syrian government asked for help from Iran. The national borders are not black and white as you can see Iran is in Syria and Iraq. Where a country sees their interests at play, they are in it.

James Wherry

You are a sock puppet of Tecumseh and tapatio

James Wherry

Both of you make good points which I can agree with. Unfortunately, the House of Sa’ud is backing a brutal strongman vs the brutal strongman that was there for decades. Both supported America’s bombing campaign against al-Quaeda and BOTH have been shown to be helping al-Quaeda in Yemen. It is a classical, no-win situation for the USA and the 6,784th reason why America should stay out of other people’s civil wars.

Helen4Yemen

There was no civil in Iraq until America bombed it to make International Jewry happy!

[How many died in Iraq?]

In the course of the past year, a new belief has emerged

in the town: the belief in war against Iraq. That ardent

faith was disseminated by a small group of 25 or 30

neoconservatives, almost all of them J E W I S H, almost

all of them intellectuals people who are mutual friends and

cultivate one another and are convinced that political

ideas are a major driving force of history a partial list:

Richard Perle,

Paul Wolfowitz,

Douglas Feith,

William Kristol,

Eliot Abrams,

Charles Krauthammer”

Haaretz – March 4, 2003

James Wherry

Are you stupid or what, Helen? This website is pro-Sh’ite. Tell me that the Shi’ites of the South were not in armed rebellion against Saddam and that Saddam was not blocking off the water ways that fed the Skuth to “drain the swamps” and commit an act of Genocide. Write it in big letters.

Sorry, Buttercup: I was 36 hours behind the initial wave into Iraq in 2003 and had the chance to sit down with the villagers in our way up to an-Nasiriya and in an-Nasiriya. They told us of the brutality if Saddam’s forces, welcomed us, and thanked us for liberation. Oh, and helped us find and round up the remnants of thenSaddam Fedeyin.

Helen4Yemen

The enemy of a Muslim is not another Muslim but the German, Russian, … Jews on our lands. The European Jew would not last one day on our soil had it not be for the Sunni/Shia sectarianism. I abhor all religious conflicts, because I consider them to be silly. Each one should go his/her way, perform religious duties and do not bother how others conduct their own religious affairs as long as it does not hurt anyone. The cancer that is eating away at the Arabic/Islamic world is not only the Jewish malignant tumor on our soil that goes by ‘Israel’, but sectarianism, too.

James Wherry

The Muslims are murdering each other and you are an accomplice of those murders

Helen4Yemen

Oded Yinon’s Zionist for the M/E is the blueprint for what is taking place.

Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel’s targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon. In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi’ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north. It is possible that the present Iranian-Iraqi confrontation will deepen this polarization.

You anti-war murderers murdered 50,000 Iraqi children through your sanctions regime, each year.

Helen4Yemen

Where is DISQUS with a block-button, with a go-away-button?
So much nonsense, who has time to read all that nonsense! Please, please, DISQUS, hurry and establish a block-unwanted-comments button. Hurry!

James Wherry

Yes, I am afraid that a dirty filthy animal like you hated “Open Discource.”

Helen4Yemen

Iraq war was by the Jews for the benefit of the Jews. The evidence is sky high. Don’t ask me for documents, be careful what you wish for! Ask these guys how a tiny group managed to order the American empire to destroy a sovereign nation for no reason at all except for the reasons mentioned in Oded Yinon’s document.

Iraq war for the Muslims to fulfill thei “end of days. The jihadists created their evil.

James Wherry

Thank you for not mincing your JEW hatred with pretend hatred if Zionists

Helen4Yemen

ZIONISM = JUDAISM

Instructions for Conquering Canaan

Numbers 33:50 The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying: 51 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you are crossing over Jordan into the land of Canaan,52 then you will drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their carved images, and destroy all their molded images, and destroy all their high places, 53 and you will drive out the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, because I have given you the land to inherit it. 54 You will possess the land by lot for an inheritance among your families, and to the larger you will give the larger inheritance, and to the smaller you will give the smaller inheritance. Every man’s inheritance will be in the place where his lot falls. By the tribes of your fathers you will inherit.55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you let remain will be like thorns in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will show hostility to you in the land in which you live. 56 And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.

James Wherry

I agree to all of that, yet modern day Jews have avoided Genocide, while modern-day Muslims have washed themselves in it

Helen4Yemen

ZIONISM IS JUDAISM

The Jews’ God, as a real estate agent of the Jews. This is directions for ‘Greater Israel’

The Borders of Canaan

Numbers 34 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Command the children of Israel, and say to them: When you are going into the land of Canaan, this is the land that will fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan with its borders.

3 Then your south side will be from the Wilderness of Zin along by the border of Edom, and your south border will be the end of the Dead Sea to the east. 4 And your border will turn from the south to the Ascent of Akrabbim, and continue to Zin, and the end of it will be from the south to Kadesh Barnea. Then it will continue to Hazar Addar, and pass on to Azmon. 5 And the border will circle around from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and the end of it will be at the Mediterranean Sea.

6 For the western border, you will have the Mediterranean Sea and its coastline. This will be your western border.

7 This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea you will mark a line to Mount Hor; 8 from Mount Hor you will mark a line of your border to Lebo Hamath, and the limits of the border will be to Zedad. 9 And the border will go on to Ziphron, and the limits of it will be at Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.

10 You will mark a line for your eastern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 And the border will go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain, and the border will go down and will reach the side of the Sea of Kinnereth to the east. 12 And the border will go down to the Jordan, and the limits of it will be at the Dead Sea.

James Wherry

Islam endorsed the Jewish prophets and their word. Muhammad acknowledged Israel as the land of the Jews.

Helen4Yemen

Please DISQUS! Please, please! It is not fair that those of us who use and like DISQUS should have to endure being inundated with so much nonsense from people who have nothing better to do. Please DISQUS hurry with the BLOCK BUTTON.

James Wherry

I enjoy exposing your lies to everyone. If your blocked lies were blocked, the truth would never be exposed.

Or, is that what you want?

Trish Radford-Poydence

She’s not lying, you’re just ignorant. And I’m not saying that to “name call.” You obviously aren’t as well read as she is. And frankly, Although I have no issue with any other religion, we’ve ben suporting the Israeli’s for WAY too long and causing a great deal of strife for our own country to do so. And you’re getting the whole middle ast thing wrong. WE started the problems there, GREED. OIL! $$$ IN WAR. Who has benefitted, Bush, Cheney, etc. You REALLY need to wake up dude. You fought for a lie. The fact that there WERE NO WMD’s and how many soldiers did we lose for that? THAT should PISS you OFF.

James Wherry

No, dip wad: I thought to learn the truth and to stop filthy murders like you from slaughtering you no, dip wad: I font to learn the truth and to stop filthy murders like you from slaughtering Iraqi children with your filthy murderous sanctions regime that was killing 50,000 children per year under Bill Clinton for weapons of mass distraction that did not exist.

You slaughtered 350,000 children between 1995 and 2001 under Bill Clinton. If you antiwar freaks had had your way, there would still be sanctions in place and another 650 ,000 Iraqi children would be dead. You freaks need to be put on trial for the crimes you committed.

AtoZ

Yes, the biblical Israel, not the Israel of 2016.

Saleem Akbar

The media are just waiting for a Madeleine Albright to say “it’s worth it” when we also starved over 500,000 children in Iraq during the 90’s.

Thanks .. however the real credit goes to the creator of the video I found.

James Wherry

Let’s clarify that statement, Saleem, “Did you know that U.N. sanctions killed 300,000 Iraqi children between 1995 and 2001 FOR WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION THAT DID NOT EXIST.” Source: UNICEF.

Saddam’s own son-in-laws came forward in 1995 and ratted him out. By the end of 1996, the U.N. inspectors were saying, ‘Yep, we got ’em.’ Prior to that, sanctions were lawful and understandable, but not after 1995. Even that one former U.S. Marine was calling the situation and saying there were no more WMD. And UNICEF was saying that sanctions killed up to 50,000 Iraq children each and every year.

But let’s also remember: 9/11 had nothing to do with this situation. In his declaration of war on the West, O’sama bin Laden mentioned them, but then he also mentioned Israel and has never had anything to do with that conflict, either.

I was happy to join in the invasion of Iraq and I was up at 0300 keeping night watch at Camp Virginia in March, 2003, discussing the invasion with a Major, trying to stay awake. He didn’t know much of anything about Iraq, to include the fact that the country was 60% Shi’ite. I said, “Look, I don’t know if Saddam has WMD, and I don’t really care. His tapped phone conversations give us all the reason to think he has, but even if he did NOT have WMD, it’s time to put a stop to these sanctions because if he does not have WMD, it’s simply murder and I don’t support that.”

It’s worth noting that, if we had continued the sanctions until today, another 650,000 Iraqi children would be dead as the direct result of our sanctions.

Saleem Akbar

Hi James,

I was unable to post my full reply to you here, so I’ve tweeted it below. Hopefully you’ll get this 🙂

I will try. It may take a bit: I am in Washington State, this weekend, but should be back on Monday.

AtoZ

Are you seriously saying we needed to invade Iraq to get rid of the sanctions we personally put on Iraq??

James Wherry

Sanctions were imposed by the world community.

No: I am saying that Saddam Hussein broke UN Security Council resolutions more than 36 times and then set about to make it appear he had WMD, through emails, phone calls and texts. Meanwhile, Iran was playing a double game by sending in their double agent, Ahmad Chalabai, to dupe the neo-con’s (he claimed to be opposed to Iran and now is happily retired and living large in Tehran).

AS A RESULT, we needed to invade Iraq to determine whether in fact the INTEL that Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Russia and France all admitted they had was true or not. My reason for supporting the invasion remains unchanged: end a murderous sanctions regime

Assuming you are old enough to be able to vote in 2000, my guess is that you were anti-war and said, “Give sanctions more time!” More time to do WHAT?!? HE DIDN’T HAVE ANY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!!!!!!!! What DO you think that sanctions were going to do, except slaughter more children???

The recent devastating car bombing in Mogadishu has been blamed by Somali officials on the terrorist group al-Shabab. But the violence (and famine) that have beset Somalia have deeper roots — decades of imperialism and intervention, and use of Somalia as a staging grounds for the “war on terror.”

Buried among statistics on gun profits and lobbying efforts is the terrifying reality of just how unique America’s gun obsession and associated violence are. And the equally terrifying plan by the NRA to “normalize” gun possession in nearly every nook and cranny of American life.

U.S. campaigns for regime change characteristically focus on the “madness” of the “dictators” to be toppled. In the case of North Korea, the narrative is spiced by the country’s developing nuclear capabilities — which North Korea views as its main line of defense against . . . regime change.

Aung Su Kyi, the leader of Myanmar, has been accused of “legitimizing genocide” against the country’s Rohingya Muslims, despite being a Nobel Prize laureate. Her country’s military has massacred thousands of Rohingya, leading some to call for Kyi’s Nobel Prize to be revoked.